Last Resurecction of the stormy night
by Edena-Tala
Summary: Sephiroth returns to claim his own experiment, and while doing so, tries to control Vincent's body. Not a great summary, so just read and you'll see.
1. Turks Return

Holding out his arm, Vincent Valentine pulled out a small army knife and held it to a vein that was clearly visible through the pallid layer of skin on his lower arm that concealed it. Slowly he cut into the flesh, and sighed as he opened and closed his other hand into a tight fist to make more blood come out. He looked at his other scars, some right by his wrist, and other near to where he was cutting now. That's when he stopped. He could remember his past obsession with cutting, and how it had almost killed him had it not been for a complete stranger who made him realize that life could be so much better. She took him into her home and showed him a pleasure almost unimaginable to his mind. But she kicked him out almost immediately after she had taken what she wanted from him. Now he was homeless again, and the soft, white flakes of snow that fell surrounded his decrepit body in the dark alley as he resumed drawing blood as well as pain from his arm. Then he felt a small tap on his right shoulder, causing him to look up, only to find a small boy standing over him.

Vincent quickly covered his arm from the innocent eyes of the boy. "Sir, why are you sitting out here in to cold snow all alone?" he asked with a small voice. Vincent gazed at the boy's young brown eyes with his own, seemingly unfeeling crimson ones. "Well, I just wanted to be alone." Vincent replied hesitantly. "Do you want to come to my house and play?" asked the boy, holding out his hand for Vincent's. "I don't think your mother would want a strange man coming into your house," said Vincent. "No, my mommy invited you." The pit of Vincent's stomach felt as if someone was going wild inside him. His vision got blurry, and his mind started to feel unusually light. Then Vincent remembered his bleeding arm. He held it out in front of him, and could hear the little boy's sharp intake of breath. Suddenly, Vincent collapsed. 

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The sky turned orange, then to a deeper shade of blue as the sun slowly sank into the horizon. Vincent was still unconscious in the alleyway, but the boy had left quite a while ago. Only one thing had been disturbed. The unconscious man's arm had been bandaged and his army knife stolen. Little did Vincent know, but the boy had also left a little note. It read:

Dear Mister,

I am Orion, the little boy that confronted you not too long ago. By the time you come to, I will be gone. But I need your help, as you are the only one who can at this point. Please meet me at the Arsenal Bar at midnight tomorrow. Thank you. 

Orion

It was folded neatly and carefully pinned to Vincent's blood red trench coat. Two hours later, he finally did awaken. Blinking his eyes, his vision gradually became less and less blurry. Then Vincent remembered his arm. He looked down, expecting to see a large, blood covered mess, but was shocked to see that the whole thing was bandaged carefully. Quite perplexed as to who did this, he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position. He failed and fell onto the cold ground, almost spraining the wrist on his previously slit arm. Vincent tried again and again to get himself off the ground, each time injuring himself more. Finally, when he was sprawled on the ground, clutching his wrist and gasping for breath, he noticed the letter. Warily, he unpinned it, unfolded it, and gazed upon the scribbled note. 

Vincent frowned, then felt a sudden urge to cut himself. His eyes darted around the alleyway, and his eyes rested upon a mangled beer can. Struggling to reach it proved very difficult indeed, and he kept falling. Yet again, he was gasping for breath, this time clutching his stomach. Resisting the urge the try for the metal, Vincent forced a mental block in his head, then curled up into a ball and fell asleep, worn from his struggles and pondering Orion's business. 

He slept for a day, as though he were dead. By the time he woke up, the streets were flooding with people. Some rushing to get to their daily jobs, others doing chores, and still others, just shopping around. Then Vincent remembered the note. Again, he tried to pull himself up, and this time, he was able to. It felt weird standing again. Being as he had slept on his side, the whole left half of his body ached. Pushing the pain to the side, Vincent limped out of the alleyway. Rude looks and comments were given as he proceeded across the street to a café. When inside, he went straight to the counter and ordered some coffee with a poppy seed muffin. Food and drink in hand, Vincent made his way to the backmost booth, avoiding the eyes of the few businessmen that occupied the area. His coffee was hot but felt good to have something within his growling stomach. The muffin was gone in a matter of minutes as well. Vincent's eyes remained on the door, though, as if he were a zombie. Then they traveled up to the counter, then to the door behind his booth. There was a little sign above it. Barely visible, it read: Arsenal Bar, open at 10:00 pm. A sweet feeling of relief swept over Vincent's body and he was finally able to relax a bit.

Relax, that it, until someone disturbed him. "Excuse me sir." A masculine voice said right above him. Vincent slowly looked up to see two men in crisp, dark gray business suits. The one who had just spoken was fairly tall, even taller than Vincent, and bald, and the second one was a tad shorter, with flaming red hair and his shirt un-tucked. Something about them seemed oddly familiar, and made Vincent want to get up and run away to a place they couldn't find him. But somehow, he remained calm, and replied. "Yes?" he said, straightening up, a wave of tension flooding into him. "Do you know anyone by the name of Orion?" the same man asked. "No, I don't." Vincent answered hesitantly. "Ok, well if you meet anyone by that name, give us a call." the second man spoke up, holding out a small white business card. Then the two walked away. Vincent heard the café owner mumbling something about 'rude manners' and 'the likes of them waking in here like that', but was too engrossed in the card. Suddenly he realized why he felt strangely around them. 

Before he could react, screams sounded from outside. Vincent jumped to his feet and rushed outside. There stood the two men, each with their handguns drawn, and directly across from them there was a little boy. This particular boy had an intricate design running down his bare back and a couple of earrings on his left ear. Nestled in his outstretched hands was a small handgun. The boy obviously didn't see Vincent, for he shot it directly at his forehead. The last thing Vincent saw was the two men towering over him, smiling for some reason. 

Suddenly Vincent was overcome with rage. He sprang up and grabbed the shorter man by his un-tucked shirt and lifted him high into the air. The man put up a decent struggle but was no match for this newly enraged adversary. He took punch after punch, until blood began to show at the corners of his mouth and he hung limp from Vincent's recently strengthened arms. Vincent's lunatic eyes seemed to pierce right through the victim's own. "Vincent, drop Reno." said the other man, holding his own gun to the back of Vincent's neck. Just then, the little boy ran up to Vincent and jumped on his back. "Drop the man and run." he whispered into the furious man's ear. A strange feeling swept over Vincent. He could feel himself letting go of the Reno, then sprinting down the street as fast as he can. 

He couldn't remember much of what happened, except that he had ran as far as 4 miles, the blurred scenery unrecognizable. Somehow, he ended up back at the café. Sitting across form him was the boy. Not knowing where to start, Vincent waited for the boy to speak up. Finally he couldn't bear it any longer. "Who are you?" he asked. "I am Orion." the boy answered too engrossed with his gun to take notice of Vincent. "Um… ok. Why are you so interested in me?" Vincent tried again. "Who said I was interested in you? What I want is your help." "Help with what?" "Getting me out of this body." Orion answered looking up into Vincent's now confused eyes. 

He sighed heavily, and then placed his gun down. "It is too complicated. I just need your cooperation. When I get back into my body, I will tell you the whole story. For now you need to be wary of the TURKS. Especially Reno and Rude. Ever since Rufus and Tseng went away, they are on an ego trip." explained Orion impatiently. "Oh. You know, I used to be a TURK. That was a long time ago. I couldn't remember them until now." Vincent mused to no one in particular. "Yes I know all about you Vincent. That's how I know you can help. Tell me, do you know anything about tormenting dreams?" asked Orion. He knew he had struck a chord when Vincent's eyes widened, then shut tightly. Vincent stayed this way as memories of his long days spent pining for Lucrecia in his coffin, while dreams of torture caused by Hojo havocked in his weary head, pooled through his mind. Orion smiled then shut his eyes as well. 

In Vincent's head, a dark shadowy figure appeared. It was tall, and for a second it reminded him of the figure of Hojo that had previously tormented him, but his fear subsided as he realized this figure was far too muscular. "Vincent." the figure said slowly. Vincent nodded, still clueless as to whom the figure was. "This is me. Orion. Well at least, how I used to be." he explained. Vincent was suddenly realized that the man was talking to him inside his own head. Quickly, he opened his eyes, and was shocked at what he saw.

On the floor, the young body of Orion shook violently. Unsure of what to do, Vincent picked up the convulsing boy, and turned to the café owner. The owner nodded, grabbed his keys, and led Vincent up the stairs to an empty room. "I don't usually let my rooms out. But in his case," the other man said, pointing at the trembling Orion, "I will let you guys stay a while. But never in the world would I let those TURKS stay here. They are so…" The man kept on talking. Though the boy was very small and light compared to Vincent, he found trouble climbing the stairs and kept stumbling down in the hallway. Finally, the café owner, who had just introduced himself as Cloud, grabbed Vincent by the arm just before he stumbled again. "Thanks." muttered Vincent.

When finally in the room, Vincent bid Cloud farewell, though something seemed overly familiar, then sat down. The convulsions had stopped, but Orion was still trembling uncontrollably. On no sudden whim, Vincent leapt up from the chair, and frantically searched the room for something sharp. Just as his wild eyes rested upon a letter opener, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "You really need to learn to stop trying to kill yourself." Orion said, laughing. "I'm not killing myself, I do it for the pain." Vincent retorted. "Well, you need to learn to control your urges. I mean, how bad can your past have been?" replied Orion, still laughing. Vincent spun around and grabbed the boy's shirt. Pulling him closer, he snarled, "You have no clue about the things I go through. Not one solitary clue. So just shut your mouth about my problems and let me deal with them how I wish to deal with them." Orion nodded feverishly, then plopped into the armchair, brown eyes looking very scared. 

Vincent, realizing what he had just done, stuck his face into his hands and lay on the bed. Seizing the opportunity, Orion jumped from the chair, grabbed some spare pillowcases and tied Vincent's arms and legs to the bedposts. Then he smiled. "Now you can control yourself." Orion said, smirking. Quite suddenly, Cloud burst into the room. "Orion, Vincent! The TURKS!! They are downstairs. _With Tseng and Rufus._" warned Cloud, just before he collapsed. Orion turned around and started to untie Vincent as fast as his 7-year-old hands would let him. Somehow, as time seemed to be gone, Vincent leapt from the bed, grabbed Orion's gun, and shot at the door.

The bullet just missed Reno's head. Falling back, Reno landed on Rude. Then Rufus appeared in the doorway. "Why, hello Orion. Who's that? Oh I know. It's Vincent." he said, sneering at their very names. "What do you want Rufus?" demanded Vincent, pointing the gun straight at his head. "We want the little boy. And of course, you," he answered, "Now be a good boy and drop your gun, because I know it isn't loaded." Vincent decided to bluff. "This gun is damn well loaded." he snapped. Then he felt cold metal against the back of his neck. "No it isn't." Tseng said behind him. Then he shot Vincent's leg. With Vincent down, it was fairly easy to obtain Orion, and when they had securely tied him down alongside Vincent, they carried them away. 

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Vincent woke up to find Tseng wrapping his leg up. Orion lay on a spare couch, seemingly lifeless. Unaware as to how he got here, Vincent looked around and saw Reno, Rude, and Rufus through a glass wall to another room. They looked as if they were arguing. Confirming Vincent's suspicions, Reno lunged at Rufus, but was pulled back by Rude, who was glaring with all his might at Rufus. Rufus just stood there, a broad smile on his face. Then he looked over at Vincent. "Tseng, are you almost done?" he called over to his comrade. "Yea, I just got to pin this damn thing." Tseng answered. "Well hurry before the boy wakes. We don't want trouble with the professor." Rufus urged. 

Tseng quickly finished bandaging Vincent's leg, then left with Rufus. Rude stepped into the room. "Vincent. How nice to see you again." he said. "What the hell was that back there?!" Vincent exclaimed, standing up, only to be pushed back onto the chair by Rude. "Well, we were originally going to give you to the professor like he asked us to. Apparently, he doesn't feel we were up to it, so he sent Rufus and Tseng instead. Damn them." Rude explained. "So… now Rufus and Tseng control the boy and I?" asked Vincent. "Well, no." Reno sounded as he came into the room with four cups of steaming cocoa. "Well then what the hell are we doing here with Rufus and Tseng!!" yelled Vincent, waking Orion up. "We don't want Rufus and Tseng to get all the glory yet again, so we are going to help you instead." Rude stated. "Help us?" questioned Orion, who was now sitting up on the couch, cradling a mug that Reno had just handed to him. "Yes, we can get you away from them, along with ourselves." Reno answered, passing out the rest of the cups. "But we have to move quickly, because they will be back within the hour." Rude clarified. Vincent sat there, looking deep in thought. His look clearly expressed what was swimming in is mind. "Well we can't just walk out of here in broad daylight. Rufus surely has guards everywhere!" Orion stated the obvious. "Well, yes. But there are other ways. You just have to look." Rude laughed. "Rude and I aren't stupid you know." Reno snapped, with a very annoyed etched on his face.

Silence settled itself upon the room while Rude and Reno busied themselves gathering ammo. Vincent had established himself into a deep trance, chin resting in his hands, and cocoa mug emptied of it's contents. Orion still looked thunderstruck at what he had just heard. Just then, Reno passed a gun to Vincent, breaking his line of thought. He took it thankfully, checking to make sure it was fully loaded. Rude then collected the cups and took them to the other room. He returned in a flash with a worried look on his face. "They're coming." he whispered. "Let's go." Reno instructed. Orion stood up and walked over to Vincent, who had also stood up. They followed Reno and Rude through a door they hadn't even noticed before. Just as they closed the door, Tseng had walked into the room. They heard footsteps, then a voice. "They're gone." Tseng was telling Rufus. 

Quite hurriedly, the four escapees made their way through a dark corridor, dim lights shining through cracks in the ceiling. Then they heard the echoing of footsteps coming from the original passage entrance. Reno ran ahead and pulled open another hidden door. "Rufus doesn't know about this one," muttered Rude as they entered through it, "Reno designed it himself." After a seemingly long, uphill climb through a pitch black hall, they reached a trapdoor on the ceiling. "Leads right outside, this one does." Reno said smugly. Rude pushed on the door with all his might, opening it. Light flooded the passageway. Vincent had to lift Orion up in order for him to properly reach the opening. Rude was the last one to exit. Closing the trapdoor carefully, they all ran for an inn not to far from where they were. 

It just so happened that the secret hallway led straight to Cloud's café. With an almost apprehensive look on his face, and after a long debate, Cloud finally agreed to let them a room. Again, muttering to himself about 'the likes of the them to barge in here like that again' he lead them up to the same room as before. Vincent sat on the bed and fell into another trance. "Thank you guys for your help. We really appreciate it." Orion thanked the two TURKS, attempting to shoo them out of the room. Reno smiled. "We aren't going anywhere." Rude said, a little confused. Vincent's eyes looked up at Rude with question. "Didn't we say we were going to help you?" Rude retorted. Orion got a very irritated look on his face. "You did help us." he said, trying to remain calm. "By help, we meant to get rid of Rufus and Tseng." Reno had to explain. Once again, Vincent's eyes showed question. "But we didn't want to get rid of Rufus." Orion tried explaining. Reno wouldn't have it. "Well then I guess you are helping us get rid of them. And we aren't leaving until they are both gone." Rude spoke up. 

Vincent closed his eyes, but almost wished he hadn't. Orion, seizing the opportunity, closed his as well. Yet again, his older figure appeared in Vincent's head, this time much closer than before. He was very muscular, with the same pattern running down his back. Only his eyes weren't brown. They glowed a very bright green. Confused, Vincent peered more closely at the man. "Vincent, they are not to be trusted." the much older Orion stated. "But they seem so, … so passionate about killing the other two." Vincent argued. "Do you know who did this to me?" Orion said, pointing to his tattoo. Vincent shook his head. "You've got another thing coming." Orion said, looking worried. Something about his clear, green eyes and strong build reminded him strangely of someone he knew he had met before. He just couldn't place a finger on it. Having enough of the strange, yet familiar man, Vincent opened his eyes. 

Yet again, Orion was having convulsions on the floor. Vincent heaved himself off of the bed and settled the boy there instead. This particular seizure lasted for much longer than the last. Reno was staring incredulously at Orion, and Rude just sat there, no saying a word, looking at the floor like it was suddenly the most wonderful thing in the world. "Why are you after Orion and me?" Vincent asked suddenly, breaking Reno's trance. "Long story." he muttered. "Well you know as well as I that we have plenty of time." Vincent persisted. "No we don't. The first place they will look is here." Reno replied. "Nice try, Vincent." chuckled Rude, attempting humor in the dismal situation. It didn't work, for Reno gave him a look that could easily be defined as that of a maniac, and Vincent focused his attention on the letter opener. 

Making a mad dash at the dresser, Vincent grabbed the sharp office tool and held it to his wrist. Before the two other men could react, he had cut himself so suddenly, so deeply that he felt pain that was indescribable. It felt as if someone had taken a gun and shot a bullet through his arm more than once. A steady tingling feeling traveled up his arm and covered his whole body in a matter of seconds. Just before Vincent's eyes rolled back in his head and he took his last desperate breath of air, Rude inserted a needle in Vincent's arm and pushed a dark, yellow liquid into him. 

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	2. Sephiroth's Mind Games

Time and cynical thoughts swirled around Vincent, weighing him down into the dark depths of his mind. Only there could he truly comprehend the meaning of all that had gone on in the previous 2 days. He could understand how Reno and Rude wanted to do away with Rufus and Tseng. The true mystery, though, was Orion. Those visions in Vincent's head, surely they were Orion. But how could he explain the older body and those all to familiar, piercing emerald eyes. As though someone had screamed the answer directly into his ear, the question as to whom Orion resembled suddenly revealed itself. _Sephiroth._

Orion had gotten the same dosage of the strange yellow liquid as Vincent had received, yet with a lot more struggle. He kept screaming, and finally attracted the attention of Cloud, who just stood in the doorway with a perplexed look upon his face. Without prevail, Orion received his amount, and fell onto Cloud, who was currently fanning Orion's perspiring face. Vincent was in the same state, sweat dripping onto the sheets of the bed while unconscious. Only the thoughts in his head were active. The two TURKS carried the unconscious men to a dark blue car at the back of the café.

Awakening in a strange room almost an hour later, the first thing Vincent saw was a horrible, reddish purple mess on his arm. It had only begun the process of scabbing, and the texture of it looked and felt brittle. Pain seared his arm, as if someone had just pressed a white-hot iron onto it. Trying his best to mentally avoid the pain, Vincent looked over to his left to see what had happened to Orion. Apparently, the boy had just woken up a couple minutes earlier and was eyeing Vincent's arm with the same disgust Vincent himself felt. "Um, Vince, I think they forgot to bandage it." Orion observed, stating the obvious. Vincent smiled to himself then remembered his visions. 

"Orion, what did you mean when you said that I had another thing coming?" he asked to the adolescent. "Well, you know the person who did this to me." Orion replied. "But who?" asked Vincent. "This is going to take a while," sighed Orion, "but I guess you are going to have to find out eventually. Do you remember--" "No time, boys, I'm sorry to say." interrupted Rude. Vincent, who was just about to have a plethora of questions answered, stood up immediately and braved Rude's own glare. "Do you have a problem with that, Vincent? Because if you do, I'd sure love to hear about it." Rude said smoothly. Vincent shook his head slowly, crimson eyes piercing into Rude's own, in a state of disbelief and pure fury. Orion took this chance to stand up and separate the now glowering men. 

"Guns, please." Reno shouted from the other room. Vincent slowly upholstered his revolver from a loose belt loop he had used, and passed it reluctantly to Rude. Orion did the same. Curious as to what Reno wanted with the guns, Orion made his way to the other room, only to be blocked by Rude, who had just stepped in the way. "Employees only" he said, a mild smirk written on his face. Now it was Orion's turn to be angry. "What the hell do you mean, employees? There is only you two, and we are the ones who are supposed to be in charge!" Orion bellowed at the much taller man. Rude only smiled. Vincent, who had just sat down to see about wrapping his arm, stood up again and restrained Orion. "What do you think you're doing?" Orion yelled in surprise. "Just follow my lead, I'm going to get us out of here." whispered Vincent into Orion's ear. The boy relaxed a little, but knew not to act too conspicuous. 

They waited patiently until Reno announced that Rude and himself were going to get lunch. Vincent nodded, then glanced at Orion who was pretending to sleep. The moment the men left, Orion leapt up and followed Vincent to the door. Like Vincent was expecting, the two men had locked the door and taken all the weapons. Luckily, Vincent knew exactly where he was. He lifted Orion up onto his shoulders, with some difficulty due to his arm, and instructed him to move the square panel in the dead center of the roof. Then he hoisted Orion into a man-sized tunnel right over them. Using all of his strength, Vincent pulled a spare sofa underneath the panel and hoisted himself up into the passageway. Struggling to stay on his feet, Vincent followed Orion down the dark passage until they were finally crawling. Vincent was progressively slowing down and his arm felt like it had when he sliced it deeply not too long before. 

Orion noticed his comrade's arm right away. The scab had somehow been torn, and the blood was everywhere. Sensing Vincent's collapse, Orion positioned himself underneath Vincent's body and after a few second's felt the weight of the man sink down onto him. Progress was extremely slow, yet Orion somehow made it to the end of the tunnel. He peeked through a tiny hole on the ground and saw the top of Cloud's head. "How many tunnels lead to this place?" muttered Orion to himself. "5," Vincent replied, regaining strength, "Not including this one." Orion sighed and carefully opened the door. Light flooded around the two weary travelers and they finally noticed the state of the hall-like tunnel. The roof and sides were a glossy looking marble, and the floor was a shiny looking wood.   


Jumping from the hole onto Cloud's shoulders was tremendously unexpected for the poor café owner. He screamed and threw Orion off of his shoulders then did a crazy sort of dance. Vincent, who had been watching from the large opening, was laughing like mad, despite his bleeding arm. "Cloud, get a ladder!" Vincent called to the scared man. Cloud looked up at Vincent, an expression of mixed annoyance and amusement was composed on his face. He grabbed the ladder from behind the shelves to his side and set it under the hole. Vincent descended from the hole and asked Cloud to assist him in bandaging his arm. 

They were so busy trying to subdue Vincent's bleeding that they didn't notice Orion had remained where he was. His expression was blank and he was mumbling something about room 2. With his arm finally fixed properly, Vincent asked Cloud about what happened after he was injected with the yellow stuff. Cloud explained how Vincent had started sweating almost immediately, but his arm had stopped bleeding right away. Then they had gotten Orion down, who had collapsed onto Cloud himself. Then the Reno had paid him for the trouble and left with both of the unconscious bodies. 

Vincent sighed. "I'm so sorry we had to intrude on you yet again." he said after a minute of silence. "Oh, you are more than welcome. At least you are an old friend." Cloud replied. "Um, old friend?" Vincent asked, a little surprised. "Yea. Lately there have been strangers coming in here. They keep saying that they are waiting for someone. In fact, just before the little boy jumped on me, I assisted a complete stranger. I don't know, but I think I remember him from somewhere." Cloud said. Vincent cocked and eyebrow. "You said the men were waiting for someone?" he asked. "Yes, that's what I said." Cloud answered. Vincent stood up so suddenly that he nearly knocked over the table he was sitting at. He strode over to Orion and yanked him up. 

"Ouch!" Orion complained, his trance broken. "Suck it up. We need to go. Now." Vincent said coldly. He kept eyeing the door to room number 2. A dark shadow had begun to move around underneath the crack of the door. "Why? I'm hungry." protested Orion. "Fine, grab a pastry, but hurry 'cause something isn't right. We need to leave immediately," Vincent ordered. "Thank you Cloud, we'll be back." Vincent said, looking over his shoulder as he roughly pulled the younger body out the door. "Er…no problem." Cloud shouted after them. Then he covered up the hole in the ceiling and put his ladder away. When he turned around, he saw a silvery-haired man rush out the door.

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Reno let out an irritated yell as he and Rude entered the empty room. He frantically checked over the tapes in his security cameras, but discovered that Vincent had blocked them. "Hey, Reno, come over here." Rude called to his panicking friend. "I can't believe this!" Reno exclaimed when he saw the couch underneath a hole in the roof. Blood stained the cushions where Vincent had started to bleed. "Ingenious." muttered Reno. "Uh, Reno?" asked Rude. "What is it?" Reno asked back. "What are they doing here?" replied Rude, pointing behind Reno. Reno swiveled around and saw Tseng standing in the doorway. "You have a lot of explaining to do." he said with a mild smirk playing on his lips. Rude grimaced and Reno let out a heavy sigh as he prepared to tell the story.

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Sephiroth, upon feeling Orion's return, scrambled to his feet and opened the door to room two. He came out just in time to witness Vincent dragging the boy out the front door and around the corner. Time was of the essence as the tall, muscular figure ran by a now very angry Cloud to the snow-covered world outside. His sparkling eyes anxiously searched the white streets for any sign of the two men. Not sighting them, he started down the street, stopping now and then to ask the late afternoon passersby if they had seen anyone of description. Coming upon a fruit stand, he stood there politely until she looked up at him with fear stricken eyes. "Have you seen a tall man with long black hair?" he asked when he had her attention. She shook her head slowly, still too paralyzed with fear of his overwhelming build. "Oh. Ok then… sorry to bother you ma'am." he apologized, then set about resuming his search. 

"Please, sir." said a small voice behind him. He turned back around and saw the girl holding out an apple. "Buy an apple." she asked him. His eyes smiled and he dug his pockets for spare change. Finally, with pockets emptied, he made his way down the street. "Hey! You!" called a voice behind him. It was Cloud. "You are coming back right?" he yelled after Sephiroth. The tall man turned around, then watched as Cloud's eyes started to shake, then his body. Soon, he was standing there like a zombie, ready to do Sephiroth's bidding. Just as he was about to make the annoyance steal from a lady, a dark figure emerged from the shadows of an alley behind Sephiroth. It crept up behind him and raised a fist. His sleeve fell down to reveal a freshly bandaged arm. 

"I wouldn't do that, Vincent." said Sephiroth calmly. Vincent lowered his arm. "Give me one reason why not." he retorted. Sephiroth began to laugh. Not a regular, jolly sort of laugh, but a very deep, sort of menacing laugh. "Do you underestimate my power, Vincent." he chuckled. "You aren't as strong as you were, Sephiroth." Vincent stated, debating in his mind whether or not he was as weak as he let off. "As are you, I can see," Sephiroth's eye's made a quick glance down at Vincent's bandaged arm, "but I know about your cutting problem. You see, your faithful buddy, here, is all to keen on telling me these things." smiled the silver haired enemy. "You didn't…" Vincent started. "Oh, yes I did. Now I know your deep, dark secrets." Sephiroth teased. Vincent called his bluff. "Oh really. Well then, what about this?" quick as a snap, Vincent had pulled a tiny handgun out of his back pocket and pressed it to Sephiroth's neck. 

Peeking from the shadows, Orion watched as Vincent pulled his small handgun out and held it to Sephiroth's neck. _No, don't shoot. _pleaded Orion. _Whatever you do, don't shoot. _As if Vincent had heard him, he quickly grabbed Cloud and sent Sephiroth away, who was laughing about something manically. Making room in the snow, Orion made way for his friend. But Vincent continued right past the alley. He found an empty spot on the sidewalk and set Cloud down. "Thanks!" exclaimed Cloud gratefully. "Yea, sure," Vincent started, trying his hardest to stay calm, but without triumph, "HOW COULD YOU LET HIM IN YOUR CAFÉ?!?!" Cloud cowered underneath the towering demon-like shadow. "Sephiroth… he can… he can control my mind. It's happened before, remember?" asked Cloud hopefully, but grimaced as he saw Vincent's face was still glowering. "Fine." he muttered, turning on his heel and leaving Cloud in the snow, then went to fetch Orion. 

"Did you try talking to me through thoughts?" Vincent asked quietly as he rushed around the corner to see if Orion was still there. The boy nodded, looking very grave. "Vincent…I…I think it's time to explain this to you." Orion said after a moments of silence. Vincent nodded in agreement. Then he picked Orion up and continued down the street, followed by Cloud, until they found a quaint hotel nestled behind a rowdy bar. They wouldn't be likely to disturbance there. 

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After being dumped on the bed by a very exhausted Vincent, and Cloud had picked a spot on the floor, Orion began explaining the very complicated situation. "Ok, here goes. After you 'killed' Sephiroth, you guys thought that you were done with the mission, so you left. Vincent, you struggled with yourself for long afterwards, and Cloud, you started the café. Little did both of you, or even Avalanche, know that Sephiroth had an ounce of life left in him. With half of that life, he started an experiment on my older body. Using Hojo's lab, he created me. I am an exact replica of him in every way, down to the mind controlling. The only differences are my appearance, and my views of the world." he paused. Vincent nodded, looking very much enlightened. Cloud was looking daft on the floor. Inhaling deeply, Orion started again, "Well, being as I am pretty much the same as Sephiroth, we are mentally connected. Every time we are near, I go into a trance and soon after that, he controls my mind and I am forced to go back to him. But lately, I've been able to fight it. That's why I was trying to linger in the café. If I were still under full control of him, I would've bolted straight to him. Anyways, with his last bit of life, he was very sickly for a while. Being as I was his 'replica', I nursed him back to health, careful not to return all of his strength." Orion explained further. "Any questions so far?" he asked. Vincent shook his head no, but Cloud was full of questions. "I thought he blew up?" he mused. "Well, he did. But not literally, he just used an illusion to get away from you guys. To him you were a mere annoyance that had to be set-aside for the moment. He had other things to deal with." explained Orion. "What things, Orion, I need to know." Vincent prodded. Looking very scared, Orion sighed and started talking again. "He needed to--AAARRGHH!!!" he screamed, clutching his head. Cloud leapt up and struggled to keep the boy calm. Vincent looked around for any sign of Sephiroth. Orion was still clutching his head as if someone had stabbed it furiously. "Vincent, I need my treatment." he gasped to him.

Vincent gave Orion a quizzical look. "The yellow stuff…" Orion managed to spit out before he collapsed. "Cloud, you watch him with your life." Vincent instructed. Cloud nodded solemnly. "Oh, and use this if you are in trouble." added Vincent, throwing him the small revolver. Nodding again, Cloud caught the gun and sat on the bed beside the trembling Orion. Vincent then dashed out the door in search of Sephiroth.

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The dark shadows consumed Reno's body. He had made up a story about how Rude let the captives go, and then held him back. Tseng, overtly angry, shot Rude a number of times. Then he threw Reno into a cold, empty room until Rufus got back. "He'll know just what do with you." Tseng laughed at Reno's scared face.

Mumbling to himself about why he shouldn't die, Reno didn't notice Rufus walk into the room. "Explain yourself!" yelled Rufus at the feeble looking hostage. "I…I…Rude didn't let me get them." Reno stammered. "Not good enough." said Rufus. "I've been waiting for this to happen for a while now." commented Tseng. "Waiting for wh--what?" asked Reno, barely comprehending anything the men were saying. "This." Rufus said, smirking. He held up his gun and let loose a bullet into Reno's forehead. A stream of crimson blood trailed down his face alongside strands of hair with equal color. He fell to the ground, dead. A look of remorse fell upon Rufus's face, but disappeared as quickly as it came.

"Great, now we only have two." said Rufus. "We'll manage. After all, the two escapees were fairly easy to capture the first time." Tseng mused. "Yes, but we knew where they were. Plus, they know we are alive now." Rufus shot back. "Maybe we could…no…never mind." Tseng mumbled. "What?" asked his curious counterpart. "We could use Pooky's help…" suggested Tseng. "Fine. Anything to help at this point." Rufus's obvious annoyance showed at the mention of the nickname Pooky's wife had so affectionately given her husband. 

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It was fairly easy to catch up to Sephiroth. He was only a few yards down, meandering towards the inn, as if expecting Vincent to stop him. "Sephiroth! Stop!" Vincent yelled at the peculiar man. "Yes, Vincent?" asked Sephiroth. "The boy, I need his treatment. You know…the yellow stuff." Vincent explained. A small beaker of yellow liquid landed in his hand. "Tell him to only drink half tonight." Sephiroth instructed. Vincent marveled with a feeling of foreboding, then turned to leave. He took a side road, avoiding the chance of Sephiroth following him. 

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Don't worry, Vincent, I'm not following you. I've got better things to do. A voice appeared in his head. It was obviously Sephiroth's, and Vincent purposely ignored it. _Though, the boy is very important to me. Do me a favor, Vincent, and forget about him. You have better things to do. _Vincent shook his head vigorously, thankful this was an empty street. _Did you know that you are responsible for the murder of your two TURK friends? Not that you did it on purpose._ He fell onto his knees, and then lay down in the shallow layer of snow that had settled onto the neglected street. 

He listened as Sephiroth's voice explained how he had controlled Tseng and Rufus. He went into full detail about how the look on Reno's face made him laugh. Vincent closed his eyes only to find Sephiroth's outline in his mind. His bright green eyes shone menacingly into Vincent's mind's eye. Suddenly, out of the darkness shrouding Sephiroth's own form, Orion stepped forward. He was equally tall, with a matching pair of eyes. _Leave him alone, master. _The form of Sephiroth jumped in surprise. _Orion, how nice of you to join us… _drawled Sephiroth, a suggestion of anxiety in his voice. Vincent could only gape at the two bodies. Each one was as magnificent as the other; the well-defined muscles, the sharp, emerald eyes, and the tall, imposing heights. 

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You know as well as I do that I am stronger. Orion went on. _Yes, well, you need to control when you do this! You know what happens!_ Sephiroth yelled, sounding very worried, almost like a father to his son. _I am willing to sacrifice my health if it means I am helping another. I know what you are doing to him. _retorted Orion. _Oh, really? What, then, am I doing to this feeble excuse for a body? _Orion smirked. _Do you think I am that stupid? You created me, remember? You were the one who poured all of his strength and knowledge into my life. And what you are doing is draining Vincent of his life. Why? I don't have a clue._ This enraged Sephiroth. His form receded to the shadow, only after he gave a sinister warning to Vincent. _I promise you I will find you. And you will obey me. _

Orion turned to Vincent's gaze and gave a weak smile. _Hurry._ He said, and then disappeared. Out in the snow, Vincent struggled with all his might to stand up. The snow had melted into his pants and the whole left side of his face felt froze. Only one thought occupied his mind, though. Orion was right in suggesting that Sephiroth was using Vincent's remaining strength. When the realization of what Sephiroth had said in his head before he left, Vincent scrambled up with the diminutive amount of vigor that he could muster up and sprinted the rest of the way to the motel. 

Cloud was waiting by the door, a ghostly look upon his face. "Vincent, it's Orion. H-he's not well." was all he could get out. Vincent pushed his way by Cloud to find a horrifying sight stretched out on the floor before him. In a small pool of blood, Orion's body was still. Every now and then, he would twitch but otherwise he showed no signs of life. Believing it was way too late, Vincent decided to try the medicine anyways. He pulled out the beaker and unplugged it. Not knowing how he was going to do this, Vincent called on Cloud's assistance. They propped the boy's head up on Cloud's knee and opened his mouth. Ever so careful as to only use half, the 'treatment' disappeared down his throat. 

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Two days passed, full of constant fear of Sephiroth showing up to claim his boy. The two had cleaned up the blood and hid the liquid underneath a loose floorboard. Finally, after many hours in the tedious days and foreboding nights, Orion began to stir. "Vincent!" he called out. "Yes, Orion? I'm right here." Vincent answered from the armchair situated by the bed. "Where's Cloud?" the boy asked. "He is right here. Sleeping, in fact." replied a very tired Vincent. "Thank you. I owe you everything." Orion apologized after a long, unsettling silence. "No, it's no problem. Don't fret about it. I'll do what I have to do, after all, now Sephiroth is after me, too." chuckled the dark-haired man. 

"Vincent, I need to tell you something." Orion said as he sat up. Vincent nodded. "Go ahead." "It's about Sephiroth. You see, he's always wanted to get his hands on you. He's been obsessing about since you tried to kill him." Orion explained. "Why?" Vincent asked. "Well, because my master has an illness that can only be cured by one method and one method only. Only few people are capable of doing this, and the others were wiped out when a capture went all wrong." the boy paused to take a breath. "Let me guess. I am the only one remaining that can 'cure' Sephiroth." commented Vincent sarcastically. "Actually, yes and no. You and one other person can do this. It's just that the other person isn't willing and cannot be controlled to do so." Orion answered.

"Who is the other person?" asked a faintly confused Vincent. "It doesn't matter. Besides, now that I'm on your side, we can fight through this." Orion eluded the question. "Hold up!!" yelled Vincent, suddenly very irritated. "My side? Fight through what, exactly?" he demanded. Orion sighed. "Fine. I guess you have the right to know." he breathed. "You're damn right I have the right to know!" said Vincent, his voice much calmer. "I was supposed to be taking you to Sephiroth. But this…man…he contained me in this small body. I am useless against you now. Only now do I see how evil Sephiroth really is. Now I want to help you, instead." "Whoa!" Cloud exclaimed from the corner. Vincent and Orion turned to look at him. "What?" asked a daft looking Cloud. "Anyways, he is on your side I guess." 

"So you are telling me that I have to help you get to your normal self so that you can take me to Sephiroth to cure is ailment." Vincent ruminated. "Exactly." Orion concluded. "Why shouldn't I refuse. I could kill you right now, you know." Vincent threatened. "Ha! Good luck, Vincent. I can control you remember?" Orion called his bluff. "Damn you." Vincent muttered. "Well explained, my boy." came a sinister voice from the door. "Get down!!" bellowed Cloud. At that moment, Tseng and a strange man came crashing through the window.


End file.
